A Companion's Choice
by Crazywish
Summary: I end up in Valdemar and get Chosen, typical, right? But what if I haven't read Mage Storms completely and I'm just rewriting a major part? Woud that be cool?
1. Chosen

A/N: Mercedes Lackey owns most of the characters, except the main one (me). She owns the whole white horse with a white-clad owner thing; so don't yell at me for using it!  
  
Thank you so much Inspiration for editing my story! I know it leaks with bad grammar, but now at least it is a tad bit better.  
  
  
  
A beautiful white horse that seemed to glow like its own very brilliant blue eyes trotted over to a white-clad blonde. The blonde lady was surely as beautiful as her horse; her eyes shown as bright as her horses and was of the same shade, her silver-streaked blonde hair was simply gorgeous with the silver coronet atop it. I sighed, wishing I could compete with that, my own auburn head of curls and my big green eyes just weren't good enough.  
  
The horse snorted and its eyes twinkled. It was looking straight at me! The woman turned toward me and smiled warmly, and waved, confidently strolling towards me. I averted my eyes and glanced about, wondering if I was allowed here. I knew the woman seemed nice enough from a-far, but I didn't even know where I was, let alone if I should be there in the first place.  
  
I'm not quite sure what kept me standing there instead of bolting. But the same thing made me smile broadly and wave back. Maybe it was good manners, but to this day I'm still not quite sure.  
  
"Are you enjoying the gardens?" the woman inquired when she was just a yard away.  
  
Something in the back of my mind told me that she was very important, and that the silver coronet was there for a good reason. So did that mean she was a princess? And where could I possibly go where there ARE princesses anymore. In Europe royalty was just for show, mainly, and for tradition. But it was evident that this royal woman held great power, though how I figured that out so soon was a mystery.  
  
I must have nodded in that train of thought, because her smile broadened. She asked some more pleasantry-like questions, holding no importance. I answered, and wondered where that accent was from. That could clue me into where I was, but I drew a blank. It SOUNDED like Australian, maybe, but it was more French, and it just didn't strike me as known.  
  
Another thought struck me: How did I know Valdemaren? I had been born and raised to speak English, yet here I was, speaking like a native noble in this grand land.  
  
After about five minutes of questioning, the woman introduced herself. "I'm Herald Selenay, of Valdemar. Who might you be?"  
  
That name, that bloody name had to be so familiar! I knew it, but I couldn't quite place it.  
  
::Dear, you should answer the Queen. I know that dreadful trip from your old planet was hard, but wouldn't you remember your favorite tale?::  
  
The voice, it was so full of love, so full of truth. And immediately I knew where Valdemar was, and how important Herald Selenay was.  
  
::OH, is it too late to Choose you? I know I should have said something earlier, but it slipped my mind…::  
  
My heart was filled with a love I had never experienced before. I knew that I would never be happy without this Chooser of mine. What were they called, anyway? Pushing that to the back of my mind, I asked for show:  
  
::You mean I'll be a Herald?! I've, I've always wanted to be one, but I thought that Valdemar was just another tale. How did I wind up in it?::  
  
"Dear, are you going to answer me?" the voice wasn't cruel, but all the more kind, and with a bit of humor in it. "I suppose you've been Chosen, then?"  
  
"Why, yes… Tell me Queen, how did I get here? In my land, Valdemar is just a tale. And yet here I am. Ishie Williams*"  
  
The woman sighed and glared at her Companion (I remembered the name now!). I thought I heard her say, "Why couldn't Brio tell her?" but her lips moved not once. It struck me as odd, but it must have been Mindspeech, and Brio was my Companion. Shields, I know, are supposed to protect thoughts, but either Queen Selenay's just weren't, or I had an incredible Gift for Mindspeech.  
  
::Ishie, Valdemar has been on the look out for someone…special. I can't yet tell you what that means, but you will know. I've searched much further than Companions generally do, but you were in need, and I was drawn to you like a bee is to honey. Elspeth and Darkwind created a spell much like a Gate, although it only needed to transport a Chosen object from a far distance away. It isn't Fetching, because with that Gift you need to know what it is you are looking for. No one was really sure. I'm sorry this was so sudden, but as I said, we needed someone special, and now we have that person right in front of us!::  
  
Brio made it sound so simple, but I wondered of that. It couldn't have been easy, and what did she mean by special? It sounded like a good thing, but one could only guess…  
  
"Aww, thank the Gods! I wasn't sure how to explain it, so I'm very glad Brio took the liberty of it. She said you knew of Heralds, so would you know that now we have to get you registered for your classes? Of course you would."  
  
And the Queen of Valdemar led me to the Herald's Collegium, chatting happily about my training every step of the way.  
  
  
  
* Means that that is not my name. If I put my real name on the Internet, I'm certain my parents would get angry. 


	2. Introductions

Disclaimer: It's all Lackey.  
  
A/N: Because of my two reviews in less than an hour, I decided to continue the story. Hope you like it!  
  
A/N: Does anyone know Selenay's real hair color, because it contradicts itself in the Arrows books and the Winds books…  
  
  
  
  
  
The next hour was quite a blur. I was fitted for my first set of Grays, shown to my room, and just guided around the Palace so I would get a "feel" for it. The Herald-trainee who guided me had brown eyes full of laughter, and brown hair centered around his soft, vulnerable face. No matter how vulnerable he may look, I knew that he couldn't be before I even spoke to him because, let's face it, Heralds are tough stuff. He was quite cute, truth be told, and I hoped those looks he gave me meant he thought the same.  
  
My brown-eyed friend had a name, apparently. It was Rob Kestrel. The name had a certain ring to it, a ring that made something flutter in of my chest. I wondered what that meant…  
  
After I had made the rounds of the palace a hundred times, once without him guiding me at all, Rob was satisfied and brought me back to my room. He looked at the door with a certain hunger that I couldn't quite fathom. I asked him tentatively if he wanted to come in, and he nodded vigorously.  
  
Since I had read Winds of Fate several times, I should have seen something coming. The Darkwind and Dawnfire scene was quite enough; I didn't want to have to live through it with some guy I just met!  
  
But luckily this Rob Kestrel was honorable. He didn't pounce on me as might have happened had it been in a real Lackey book. Instead he sat on the floor beside the fire, and gestured for me to follow suit.  
  
Rob stared deep into my eyes as I moved and I was certain my cheeks were a nice rosy red. He wasn't at all like some of the guys from my old life, who couldn't keep their eyes off my chest. I found myself lost in those big, beautiful brown eyes (nice alliteration!) and felt my life fall into place.  
  
I had been infatuated before, by a boy known as Mark. Mark and Rob both had brown eyes and brown hair, yet they looked nothing alike. Rob had kind, humor-filled eyes, while Mark had possessed a pair of dark brown eyes that sent frightening chills down your spine. I had wasted a good six moons on that murderous boy, and it had taken weeks for me to even notice him.  
  
It was so different with Rob. Here I had known him less than a day, and already I was infatuated. It appeared he felt the same way as he leaned closer to me, stopping my breath completely. His lips were drawing teasingly closer, and I couldn't stand the slowness. I pulled him closer and gave him the most intimate kiss I could, which, considering my (cough cough) experience was pretty intimate.  
  
Rob didn't pull away shocked from the vigor in my kiss. He gave it all he had, also. It was the single most enjoyable moment I had had in all my time in Velgarth thus far.  
  
As in most badly written movies of my old world, sex usually precedes such a kiss. But I was in the real world, and after that kiss was only staring contests, although it might have looked as if we were tied. For a candlemark we looked deep into each other, but that was interrupted by a loud knock on my wooden door.  
  
That knock startled the living hell out of me. That was just a beginning though, I hadn't yet seen the person in the doorway.  
  
The most extraordinary clothing I had seen in the whole of the palace was on this Herald (for she was, as Brio so kindly told me). They were a deep ruby red color, with flowing sleeves and a modest skirt. The undergarments weren't hiding as most were; they were indeed a part of her outfit. This stranger wore ruby slippers not meant for much movement, just for relaxation. She smiled broadly, and her rosy complexion was gorgeous with her wavy brown hair.  
  
She looked like the type of person who could be mousy in Whites. I thought that she knew it too, so therefore wore much more alive clothing. That stupid familiarity again! The clothes must have been Tayledras, or Shin'a'in, as both favored clothing similar to that, so I thought. But when I saw this woman's shadow, a man with silver hair to his waist and eyes almost as blue as any Companion, I knew who she was, therefore what type of clothing she wore.  
  
Before me stood my favorite couple in all tales. Darkwind k'Sheyna and his mate Elspeth k'Valdemar k'Sheyna. I was lost for words, which was rewarded with two witty grins.  
  
Rob was apparently as stunned as me. He whispered to me fretfully that he had only seen them from afar, and that he was awed that they would greet me on my first day as a trainee. I felt the exact same way (well, the shocked part anyway!).  
  
"Mother told me that I'd find a good friend in you. She's normally right about such things, so I thought I'd meet you. I'm Elspeth, and this is my love, Darkwind. But apparently you know that already, right?"  
  
My confidence was up at the mention of the Queen. "I've read tales. You two are quite the couple-" two beet red blushes "I'm Ishie Williams, or did the Queen tell you as much?"  
  
The mates nodded in unison. Darkwind spoke this time, saying to Elspeth, "Brightfeather, we have taken no notice in Ishie's friend." Rob was simply fuchsia.  
  
Elspeth's eyes twinkled, and she winked. :You certainly work fast, now don't you? You already have a likely mate!: Little did I know that she had been thinking that it was a lifebond under the tightest of her shields.  
  
I blushed, and wondered at her Mindspeech. Only dear Brio had used it thus far, and it felt uncanny to have another voice in my mind. Elspeth only smiled.  
  
Darkwind and Rob were deep in conversation when I had overcome my embarrassment. But it was all mind-to-mind, and I couldn't hear it; they were blocking me out! I felt better when Elspeth looked frustrated and glowered at Darkwind. Was the conversation about us "women?"  
  
The thought was interrupted by a loud dong, the dinner bell. Elspeth signaled me to follow her, and we walked off to the Court dinner, contentedly happy with silence.  
  
When we entered the room, Selenay beamed with pride to see her eldest child talking to her new friend. It wasn't surprise in the least; she had expected the very same. Acting most un-Queenly, Selenay jumped from her chair at the head of the table across from Daren, and gave Elspeth a motherly hug, and me a friendly one, and whispered, "I trust Rob was a good guide?" She winked, and I could only stammer an incoherent reply.  
  
While blushing from the many comments I had received from Brio after the Queen, I glanced about the room. I got puzzled glances from finely dressed nobles and a few Heralds. I would have endured those glances much better than what happened next.  
  
Trumpets played that annoying tune they always do before a big announcement. Selenay cleared her throat, and said royally, "May I be the one to introduce you to our key to surviving the Eastern Empire's conquests. Our newest Herald-in-training has a completely undetectable Gift for FarSeeing. She also has Adept-potential that rivals ANY mage that may be thrown at us. We have been searching for Ishie Williams for the past year, and are now rewarded with her presence at Court dinner. She was Chosen without being in Haven for more than a minute or two, the most remarkable Choosing in recorded history. Let her be our Guest of Honor!"  
  
I was crimson when the applause started.  
  
:Why didn't you tell me I could do all that stuff?: I asked Brio silently. He didn't answer. 


	3. Companions' Secret

A/N: I love this story so far, although it might seem a little boring. But how many books start out full of excitement? Don't even tell me a lot of them!  
  
And here we go… (With a difference right at the start)  
  
  
  
Caryo's (Selenay's Companion) Point of View  
  
I didn't like having to keep such a big secret from my Chosen, but I suppose none of the other Companions did either. It's not like we've never kept a secret from our Chosen, but this new thing wasn't just that; it was a lie.  
  
Brio's Chosen Ishie was indeed important, but not quite essential to the downfall of the vicious Eastern Empire. She did have Mage talent, but it was not the most powerful ever discovered. I'd be surprised if she got past Master level.  
  
The other comment of her Gifts, the Gift of Farseeing, was just thrown in. I had to force stupidity into my Chosen on that account, because every Gift of FarSight is undetectable. True, people have found ways to block it out, but it can never be detected. *  
  
This girl Ishie was a burden off the Companions' backs. All of us. We were all worried when she was taken from our world, but now that she was back, our problems seemed behind us. The evil mage may have gotten away with her exile, but he had no way of keeping her from coming back.  
  
Oh dear, these memories are so troubling. It is hard to know more of your Chosen's memories than your Chosen does, but here I face that very predicament! I had been forced to erase a very delicate memory from Selenay's mind so that she wouldn't fret. Imagine if she knew the rightful Heir had been missing for 17 years and that Elspeth was a second born child!  
  
When Selenay was still training in the Collegium, she had a lover that had passed the border protections up at the time. It was unknown to most that he was a mage, but I knew. He planted his seed in her, and then left. It was a simple fertility spell that insured that a child was born from that act. But that had been at the very end of her training, and a month later she went on her year and a half internship. She gave birth to the baby, a beautiful, bubbly girl she named Charline. Her internee's memory was wiped clear of the event and the month that followed it.  
  
Charline and Selenay spent two months together. But then the mage that had been Charline's birth father had other plans for his child. (He must have been watching the mother and child, but I have no way of truly knowing, because Mage-sight simply didn't exist then in Valdemar.) Charline's father took her away, and wanted her far, far away from Selenay, to weaken the Queen so he could conquer her land. He wasn't expecting me at all, so when Selenay didn't "remember" her first-born child, it was quite a shock for him.  
  
But for some reason, despite the shock, the mage wanted to get Charline out of the reach of Selenay completely. He used his Mage-gift to find a Velgarth-like planet, and then sent her to live there for life. The Heir to the Throne of Valdemar lay forgotten, until now.  
  
And to have Charline here was wonderful. But she called herself Ishie now, at 17 years old. Ishie Williams. Brio said that Charline had been called that in her old home, and didn't wish to lose it now. She had been born Charline, true, but Ishie seemed more appropriate when she met up with Miss. Anthropist and Pippi. Brio seemed humored by his Chosen's memory, and she wouldn't tell me anything else. But not that it really mattered. All that mattered was that she was here.  
  
  
  
Brio's Point of View  
  
  
  
That damned Caryo! Always nosing her way into my business, even before Charline (Ishie) got here. She seemed to think it was her obligation to know about her Chosen's child, but why such a minor detail as her name change should matter was beyond me.  
  
And Caryo's thought about the burden being off our shoulders was laughable. In fact, I'd had a good snort after she voiced that opinion. We were in danger now that I had Chosen the Heir to the Throne, but I wouldn't get out of the danger for anything. Charline's love is too strong, and her mind too pure. **  
  
I wished that she enjoyed Court dinner more, but she was completely lost. I gave her my knowledge of etiquette in my life as a Herald, and that helped, but I couldn't explain the food. She had been eating something we haven't even discovered yet in all her life; chemical ridden food. Although the fruits and vegetables her play-act parents fed her were fresh enough, it was nothing like now. The tastes and sensations proved overwhelming to my poor Ishie, and I couldn't help her.  
  
When I figured out that I'd "honestly be no help," I decided to instead think of her lifebond. It was obvious to anyone who looked at the two walking together on their first meeting that it was true, and I was overjoyed. And Rob's Companion Tess couldn't agree more. This was an exciting event in a Companions' life, you see. And it was a rare event at that.  
  
Of course I couldn't tell Ishie that. The very proof of discomfort in an unconfirmed but teased upon lifebond lay in Dirk and Talia. I couldn't allow such pain in to my Chosen's heart.  
  
Lifebonds are splendid events. When I had been a Herald, I was lifebonded to a Healer by the name of Amee Laer. She was nothing like the new love of my life, Ishie, but I had been in deep love with that pretty thing. But I had died on a mission, and she lived on, because her duty as a Healer overpowered her love for me. It's not that it mattered much, after all, I was going to be a Companion after death, but it felt like a sting of rejection non-the-less.  
  
Ishie presently got into bed, and fell asleep upon hitting the pillow. Then I felt safe to sleep as my Chosen, and I indulged in that safeness.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
A/n: Here's some notes, incase you were wondering about those little stars.  
  
  
  
* I'm not quite certain that that is true, but someone yelled at me for it, so I thought I'd make them happy.  
  
  
  
** Pippi and Miss. Anthropist better not laugh at that! Charline COULD be pure of mind, after all…. (not likely, but it could happen!) 


End file.
